Electric water-heater.



No. 894,323. PATENTEDJULY 28, 1908.

r \F. E. HOLT. ELECTRIC WATER HEATER;

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2,1908.

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INVENTOR Buzz-k lLJffOl-.

FRANK E. HOLT, or VANCOUVER, BRITISH. COLUMBIA, CANADA.-

ELECTRIC W ATER -HEZATER.

No. ceases Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2871908.

Application filed April 2, 1908. Serial No. 424,68

To all whom it may-concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E.- HoLT, a citi zen of the Dominion of Canada, and -a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, have inT e'nted certain new and useful Improve? ments in Electric Water-Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cefrtainnew and useful improvements in instantaneous elec-' tric water heaters in which means are pro vided for heating a running current of water and maintaining the Water in direct contact with the heating element so as to utilize all of the heat energy.

Again my invention has for its object to provide an improved construction of core and manner of winding the heating element and dividing the same into a series of peripli orally arranged water passages, the heating element being wound in a 'zig-zag mannerbetween said pro' ecting members of the core. The core is also provided with'intermediate Y-shapedribs over which the heating elerhent is passed so that the heating element only contacts with a minimum core surface so as to .permit the water being acted upon by the heating element throughout its entire length,the V-shaped ribs extending only approximately one-half of the distance between the core proper and the/casing so as to permit the Water to flow on both sides of the heating element, or in other words, so as to locate the heating element about in the mid-position of the water passages.

My invention also includes those novel details of construction, arrangement and combination of parts, all of Which will be first de scribed, and then be specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which:-

Figure l is a face view of my invention, the electric circuit being shown in dotted lines. F ig. 2, is a central, vertical longitudinal secion thereof a part of the core being shown in elevation. Fig. 3, is an enlarged transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, showing the water passages and the position of the heat-- ing elementni suchpassagc. Fig. 4, 1s a detail dcvelo pment of a portion of the core surface, showing the manner of stringing the." wires or heating element thereon. i,

Referring'now to the-accompanying drawin'gs in which like letters and numbers of ref-o erence indicate like parts in all of the figurea' v 1 designates an insulating base upon which the water inlet pipe 2, the switch 3 and the heater 4 are mounted.

Thewater inlet pipe 2 carries a stop cock 2*, whereby the water may be controlled to flow to the heater, and the electric switch 3, which may be. of any approved construction is connected by leads 3 -3 with the contact terminals 4 and 5 to which the source of electric energy is connected. Leads 3 and 3 connect the switch 3 with the terminals 2 and 2 of the heater 4. v

The heater ecomprises a casing 49 which may be otglass or any other .insulating, or

other suitablcmaterial, the casing l being open at its ends and closed by washers 4 and 5 respectively which are held between the casing end and the heads 5 andii? respectively, which will be hereinafter again. referred to.

is of a peculiar construction and forms'one of the essential features of my invention. A

reference to Figs. 2 and 3, will disclose the fact that the core 5 is provided with a series of radial projections forming partitions and extending from the core. to the walls of the casing 4 so as to divide the space between the core proper and the casing 4E into a serics of water passages 9, which extend from one end of the casing to the other.

The partitions 5 which divide the casing into the compartments 9, do not extend en-- tirely to the'ends of the-core 5, but leave spaces '50 at the end thereof to form water chambers from which the water flows through the passages 9 from end to end of the casing, in a manner which will be hereinafter more fully explained.

Thecore 5is integrally formed or fastened,

in any approved manner to the head; 5,..

which, together with the washers 5 serve to form a closure for the-upper end of the casing 41 and the head 5*. and core 5 are bored t0 form a chamber or socket 5? to receive the pipe 6 which is held in place .by cement 5 or any other approved means and which is connected with they outlet spout 7 through a union 7" as clearly indicated in. Fig. 2 of'th'e drawings.

, so The core 5 which fits within the casing 4 At the upper end the core 5 is bored with a series of apertures 5 so that communication may be had with the upper chamber 50 from the pipe 6 so that the water from the charm ber 50 passing through the bores 5 will flow into the pipe 6 and then pass out through the spout 7. A pipe 8 is similarly fastened to the core 5 at the lower end and is connected with the union 2* of the pipe 2 and the water passing through the pipe 2 passes through passages 5 that pass through the core 5 and pipe 8, and into the lower chamber 50, from whence it flows through the passages 9 to the upper chamber 50 and out through pipe 6 and spout 7 in a manner which will be presently more fully explained. The core 5 is also provided with a series of parallelly arranged longitudinal ribs 5 of V-shape in cross section and spaced apart, the ribs 5 having their edges projected about onehalf the distance'between the core proper and the casing 4, as indicated in Fig. 3, so as to form, as it were, knife edges upon which the heating element 10 rests. This leaves a water space between the heating element 10 and the core, and between the heating element 10 and thecasing, so that the heating element, as it were, is practically in the middle of the water passage sothat the Water can engage the heating element practically on all sides. The partitionribs 5 are provided with a seri es of spaced transverse grooves forming, as it were, a series of lugs 5*, around which the heating element 10 is passed and wound zig-zag, as indicated in Figs. 2 and-s ofthe drawings. This makes avery effective winding of the heating element on the core and enables a large amount of heating element to be wound on the core and by virtue of the lugsh formed in the ribs by the transverse grooves, the heating element can be wound around such lugs 5 to pass across the V-shaped ribs, and by virtue of such. ribs being of V-shape in' cross section the amount of contact between the ribs and the heating element is very slight, allowing the Water to contact the heating element throughout as much of its surface as is possible. Furthermore, by constructing the core and heating element as described, the water will be more quicklyheated as it is not necessary for the core to be heated by the heating element, for the reason that the water passing on both sides of the heating element will have thefull benefit of all the heat of the heating element and hence make it unnecessary to first hefit the core 5, as isthe casein that type of heaters wherein the water passing thrpugh a core, through a porcelain tube or through assages of a core in which the wireis wound tightly against the core, only a small surface, if any,

of the wire is. exposed to contact with the water that is to be heated.

It should be understood that the core 5 may be constructed of any suitable material,

ceases in practice, but preferably constructed of porcelain, lava, or the like, so as to be practically fire proof. i

So as described, the manner in which my invention operates will be best explained as i'ollows: The operator desiring to obtain instantaneous hot water, turns on the switch 3 and the cock 2" and permits the water to flow through the heater. As the electric current passes through the heating element 10, the same will be rendered hot and may be if desired brought up to incandescence, so that when the water passes through the passages 9, from end to end of the casing, and in contact with theheating element the heat thereof will be imparted to the water instantaneously and as the Water passes out of the pipe 7 it will be hot. The temperature of the Water may be regulated by regulating the current l'lowing through the heating element in. a manner well understood by those skilled in the art.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with. the accompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construction, operation. and many advantagesof my invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention apper-tains, and I desire to say that numerous slight changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of partsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is? 1. An electric Water heater comprising a casing, a core disposed therein and having a series of peripherally arranged partitions dividing the easing into a series of water passages, a heating element wound on said partitions across said water passages, substantially as shown and described.

2. An electric Water heater comprising a casing, a core disposed therein and having a series of peripherally arranged partitions dividing the easing into a series of Water passages, a heating element wound on said partitions across said water passages, and a series of parallelly disposed ribs carried by the core in said water passages over which said heating element passes.

3. An electric Water heater comprising a casing, a core disposed therein, said core having a series of peripherally. arranged lontudinal partitions dividing the easing into a series of water-passages from end to end, said core having a series of parallelly disposed V-shaped ribs in said water passages, a heating element held over said partitions in said Water passage, and against saidkribs, substantially as ,shown and described. H

4. An electrical water heater comprising a casing, end closure members therefor, a core disposed in said casing from end to end, said core having a series of spaced partitioijs forming Water passages between them, said partitions having transverse grooves to form described.

5. An electrical Water heater comprising a casing, end closure members therefor, a core disposed in said casing from end to end, said core having a series of spaced partitions forming Water passages bet-Ween them, said partitions having transverse grooves to form lugs, a heating element Wound zig-zag around said lugs and across said Water passages, and

said core havinga supplemental series of ribs pro ect1ng into said Water passages over which said heating element passes.

6. An electric Water heater comprising a casing, a core mounted Within said casing and having an integrally formed head to form a closure for one end of said casing, means for closing the other end of said casing, means for leading Water into one end of said casing and means for drawing it off from the other end of said casing, said core having a series of longitudinal peripheral Water passages running from end to end and parallel with the longitudinal axis .of said core, and said core also having a series of ribs running parallel in said water passages and a heating element Wound on said core.

7. In an electric water heater, a core having a series of periplmrally spaced longitudinal partitions on its outer surface, and

a series of intermediate ribs on its outer surface projecting a lesser distance than the partitions.

8. In an electric Water heater, a core having a series ofperipherally spaced longitudinal artitions on its outer surface and a series 0 intermediate ribs on its outer surface projecting a lesser distance than the partitions, a casing in which said core is mounted, means for leading Water into one end of said casing, and means for Withdrawing Water from the other end of said casing,

and a heating element Wound on said core Within said casing to be in contact With the Water as it passes through the Water passage.

9. In an electric Water heater, a core having a series ofperipherally spaced longitudinal artitions on its outer surface and a v series of intermediate ribs on its outer surface projecting a lesser distance than the.

ing Water from the other end of said casing,

a heating element Wound on said core Within said casing to be in contact With the Water as it passes through the Water passages, said core having means for sustaining said heat' Witnesses: i

ALBERT E. DIETERIcH. GEO. B. Prr'rs. 

